This little piggy went to school

Thursday

Sep 27, 2007 at 12:01 AMSep 27, 2007 at 1:25 PM

When football players talk about hanging on to the pigskin, they’re not usually referring to the live version. But on Wednesday, Wethersfield High School football team members engaged in a little pregame practice on the field, chasing down a pig that had apparently been turned loose in the stadium.

Tammy Wilkinson

When football players talk about hanging on to the pigskin, they’re not usually referring to the live version.

But on Wednesday, Wethersfield High School football team members engaged in a little pregame practice on the field, chasing down a pig that had apparently been turned loose in the stadium.

Shortly after 7:30 a.m., police received a phone call from school secretary Rose Jackson asking for help in securing a 45-pound pig running around inside the fence at Wethersfield Memorial Football field.

Custodians Dave Talbot and Steve Berlinski had spotted the pig under a goalpost while picking up litter. Berlinski saw what he thought was a white garbage bag on the ground. As he approached it, the pig jumped up and started to run.

Berlinski shouted, “What the hell is that?”

The two called School Supt. Shane Kazubowski, who told them to call the police.

Officers Tim Pence, Michael Minx and Jimmy Cable came to join in pursuit of the pig.

Pence said police received several offers of help from football players who were watching.

The offer was accepted, and after a short chase, Wethersfield wide receiver Mike McIntyre managed to catch the pig.

Talbot carried the pig to a waiting squad car, and it was taken to the nearest available holding facility: the school farm at Kewanee High School.

Kewanee and Wethersfield are both celebrating homecoming this week.

Pence said the local authorities had no housing arrangements available for the pig, and Kewanee High School officials were gracious enough to allow the visitor to be housed at their facility with a couple of cows, goats, lambs and even a few swine.

In the meantime, Kewanee Police have contacted local farmers to determine who owns the pig, but with no luck.

A sophomore game was played on the football field Tuesday night, and the pig must have been brought to the field sometime after the game, school officials said.

Kazubowski said it was a “funny and harmless school prank,” but he stressed that he does not glorify the activity and is hoping that the incident does not have a snowball effect. He also expressed a concern over whether the pig was illegally obtained.

Anyone with any information on the incident or the pig’s ownership is asked to call the Kewanee Police Department at 853-1911.